FWC wishes to increase the manatee population

Sunday

Jan 28, 2007 at 12:41 AM

As chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), please allow me to clarify a point of miscommunication that has sparked controversy throughout the state. Over my dead body, will the FWC manage the manatee population to follow any path other than full recovery, and I am confident my fellow commissioners would echo that
statement.
Despite widely publicized misinterpretation of parts of the proposed manatee management plan, the FWC does not project a 50 percent decline in the manatee population and does not plan to manage the species to achieve a 30 percent decline. The plan is to identify every realistic measure we can take to enable the manatee population to remain stable or continue increasing.
The FWC has hundreds of dedicated employees fighting tooth and nail to help manatees recover from past losses. What they are doing is working, and that is why the manatee no longer qualifies for listing as an endangered species. Manatees no longer are in imminent danger of extinction.
It's true that manatee mortality was at a record level in 2006, but we must be careful not to read too much into that information. That single fact does not mean the manatee is slipping toward extinction. Last year's known deaths of 416 manatees may simply indicate we're getting better at locating carcasses, or it may reflect some other factor, or it may indicate nothing at all.
The FWC has a proud history "snatching victories from the jaws of defeat," not vice versa. The high manatee mortality rate in 2006 sheds light on where we need to concentrate protection efforts in the future. The FWC will respond appropriately and aggressively.
Rodney Barreto,
Chairman
Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission
Tallahassee

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